Gates Foundation-backed Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative to support African healthtech startups, is calling for leading innovators in Africa to join its 3rd cohort to prepare themselves for expansion.
Gates Foundation, MSD, Cencora, Endless Foundation, HELP Logistics–a subsidiary of the Kühne Foundation, Sanofi’s Global Health Unit and Chemonics, will avail the funds for i3 to invest in 15 leading startups in the healthcare sector.
i3 is coordinated by Salient Advisory and Solina Center for Research and Development (SCIDaR).
According to Dr. Uchenna Igbokwe, CEO, SCIDaR “With the right resources, African-led companies can scale commercially while reaching underserved communities and creating jobs. The i3 program has been able to prove, in just two years, that an actively engaged network of leading global health institutions and partners can power African innovators to solve critical African problems in healthcare.”
The cohort will have 10 early-stage startups innovating in healthcare delivery or product distribution and 5 growth-stage startups building the future of pharmacy care. The early-stage startups will receive a $50K grant while the growth-stage startups will receive a $225K grant to unlock major partnerships that can expand patient access across the continent.
i3 aims to facilitate at least 150 relationships with key healthcare organizations, worth at least $30M, which will expand patient access while creating valuable local jobs.
Applications for the 3rd cohort are open now until February 28th. Apply here. Selected startups will be announced on April 30th. Launched two years ago, i3 has empowered 60 African health innovators across 16 countries and provided $3M in direct grants, and facilitated 450 strategic connections, resulting in >$11M in contracted partnerships, expanded reach, and nearly 1,000 jobs created.
Oghenetega Iortim, CEO of Figorr, a company that provides end-to-end supply chain tracking technology and an i3 alumni, said, “We partnered with the Nigerian government to track over 200M health products. Through i3 we met with major global customers who were excited to find ways to expand Figorr’s impact both in Nigeria, and beyond. We’re grateful to i3 for opening these doors.”
Applications for the 3rd cohort are open now until February 28. Apply here:
innovationsinafrica.com/application. The selected startups will be announced on April 30th. A virtual Q&A session will be hosted by i3 on February 21st to answer any questions regarding the application process. Tech hubs CcHUB and Villgro Africa will spearhead cohort selection, alongside a distinguished panel of African experts.
